As if I didn't have anything else to do, I just spent the past two hours playing with Google Maps. What fun! I know I'm going to spend some more time there creating additional maps. I'll have to make sure my distant cousin, George Joslin, knows about this. He's got a list of several hundred places that his grandfather, Luther Joslin, lived in Indiana, Illinois, Iowa, Montana, and Kansas between 1870 and 1930. He has hand drawn a rough draft but Google Maps would make it so much easier for him, I think.

The map is embedded, which I think means you should be able to click on it to zoom in and out. Not sure how that works. We'll see. - - Update: Click on the "View Larger Map" text and it will take you to the Google Maps page for this particular map.

The Phend and Wiseman families were two of three families who were the last of my lines to make it to these shores. The other family is Fisher, who came somewhere from "Germany" about 1833, a year or so after the Phend and Wiseman families.

Blue Marker - Bern, Switzerland
The Wiseman family resided "somewhere" in the prefecture of Bern prior to their emigration to Switzerland County, Indiana in 1832.

Rose Colored Marker - Gsteig, SwitzerlandJacob and Verena Laederich Kuebli were married in Gsteig in 1785. Their daughter Susanna would marry Johannes B'hend.

Red Marker (hidden behind the rose colored marker, zoom in on map to see it) - Interlaken, SwitzerlandThe Phend (B'hend) family was in the Interlaken - Matten bei Interlaken area in 1808 and before. Barbara Phend, half-sister of Jacob, was born in Habkern. Johannes B'hend and his wife Susanna Kuebla emigrated to the United State in 1832.

France - purple marker - LeHavre - port of embarkation
Both the Phend and Wiseman families left through the port of LeHavre in 1832 on their way to the United States. It is doubtful that they knew each other. The Phend's settled for a while in Ohio then made their way to northern Indiana while the Wiseman's settled in Switzerland County, Indiana.

Wednesday, January 30, 2008

Part 1 of this series discusses the possible family of Peter and Christina Wise of Wayne County, Ohio and Miami County, Indiana.

Part 2 includes scanned images of two handwritten notes made by my grandmother that shed some light on two of the probable children of Peter and Christina, those being John Wise and Eliza Wise Hoffman. That post dealt primarily with the search for Eliza.

Part 3 revealed the information that was found on the children and grandchildren of Eliza Jane Wise and Anthony Hoffman.

This will be the final post in this series, at least for now and until additional information is discovered. It will discuss what has been found on the family of John Wise, which isn't much!

A look back at the transcription and scanned images of the notes in Part 2 will show that only one surname group remains, as the others (Huffman/Hoffman, Wertenberger, Fluke, and Gidley) were covered in the posts on Eliza's family.

So, for now, we'll assume that the Murry's are the grandchildren of John Wise, as my grandmother's note states.

John Wise was listed as a 19 year old born in Ohio in the 1850 census of Wayne County, Ohio (Chester Township page 348) with Peter and Christina Wise. There is a record in Miami County, Indiana for the marriage of a John S. Wise to Setha Cummar on May 14, 1854 (Book C-2 p227) that was found online but I don't know if it is for the same John Wise. John may not have come to Indiana with Peter and Christina.

It is possible that John remained in Wayne County, Ohio or he may have moved to nearby Ashland County, or elsewhere. According to grandma's note, the Murry's lived in Ashland, Ohio. Also, Eliza's oldest daughter, Minnie Hoffman Fluke, was residing in Orange Township, Ashland County, Ohio by 1900. It appears that her husband, Perry M. Fluke, had been born there. The question that arises is why did Minnie move to Ohio? Did she perhaps meet her future husband, Perry Fluke, there while visiting her cousins?

Back to John. Based on his age in the 1850 census, John Wise would have been born about 1830-31, making him about 29-30 years old in 1860. In the census index online at ancestry.com for 1860, there are three John Wise's listed in Wayne County. None are close to the right age. The closest to his age in Ashland County is a 26 year old.

A search for Guy Murry/Murray brings up a family in Ashland County, Ohio (Orange Township page 24d) in 1880: Hugh Murray is a farmer and the 45 year old head of household, he was born in Ohio and his parents were born in Pennsylvania. His wife is Jane A., age 34, born in Ohio and her parents were born in Pennsylvania. Listed with them is a son Guy, age 11 or 17; a son Fay whose age can't be deciphered; Mary, Hugh's 79 year old mother. There is a female aged 26 whose last name is Wagner. Her first name could be Annie or maybe Jennie and her occupation is not legible. A 19 year old male, Frederick Householde [?] is also included; he is a farm laborer.

Could Jane A. Murray be the "Jenny" Murry in grandma's note? I haven't found Hugh, Jane, Guy, or Fay in any other census records using the ancestry search capabilities.

The only other item that I found is an Ohio Death Record on ancestry for Macy M. Hart who was born about 1884 and died July 3, 1965 in Ashland, Ohio. Her marital status was widowed. Names of parents are not in the record on ancestry. FamilySearch Labs only has Ohio Death Records online from 1908-1953 so this one wouldn't be included. Without more information, I can't determine if this is the same Macy Hart in grandma's note. My gut feeling is that it isn't, as I think this Macy was born too late. I may write to see if I can get the obituary, which will hopefully include the names of her parents and/or siblings.

Basically, I've come up cold on John Wise and his possible "Murry" grandchildren. There really isn't enough information to pursue them at this time. His name is too common for conjecture without having a better idea of where he lived. Did John come to Indiana or did he remain in Ohio? Who were his children, how many did he have, who did they marry and where did they live? The best I can hope for now is that someone researching John Wise in Wayne County, Ohio or the Murry/Murray family in Ohio will see this and contact me.

Thus far, other than my grandmother's note and the census records, there is really nothing that makes the connection between Eliza Jane Wise Hoffman and her possible parents Peter and Christina Wise. I have no concrete evidence that my 3rd great grandfather, Jacob Wise, is a brother of Eliza - nothing, that is, except those notes from my grandmother. I have no "proof" that Jacob is a son of Peter and Christina. The only thing that I have that links them is the fact that they were both in Wayne County, Ohio and another statement by my grandmother that Jacob's first child was born in Miami County, Indiana (where Peter and Christina were living at the time).

The first step toward gathering more evidence would be to obtain the death record and/or obituary notice for Eliza Jane Wise Hoffman. Based on census records, previously discussed, she probably died between 1920 and 1930 and most likely in Wabash County. If I get lucky, perhaps someone still knew the names of her parents when she passed away and that information is recorded in her death record or obituary.

In addition to Eliza's death rcord, other research that needs to be done to make the possible connection to Peter and Christina Wise includes obtaining the following records:

Land transactions for Peter Wise in Miami County, Indiana. These may tell us where he came from. If the land was sold after he passed away, it could provide the names of some of his children.

A will or estate settlement for Peter and/or Christina Wise, also in Miami County. He died in January 1875 and she in April 1884.

Other research, depending upon what was found in Eliza's death record and obituary notice:

Death records, obituaries, cemetery records for descendants of Eliza Hoffman in Wabash County, Indiana and Ashland County, Ohio.

Marriage records, where appropriate.

Additional searching in online databases. I've barely scratched the surface with searches at ancestry.com, the GenWeb sites for Ashland County, Ohio and Miami and Wabash counties, Indiana, findagrave.com, and WorldConnect.

However, I think, before putting more time and energy into searching for more information on Eliza and her descendants, I somehow need to determine if she is the daughter of Peter and Christina Wise. And that is going to mean on-site researching. What I need won'tl be found on the internet! Fortunately, I live only an hour or so away from Miami and Wabash counties.

I also would like to delve into more research on Peter Wise in Ohio, but again, I wonder if the information I have is sufficient to say that he is my ancestor, the father of Jacob Wise, who is my 3rd great grandfather.

Searching for Wise, and variations thereof, in Ohio in the early 1800s is going to be challenging, like looking for Smith or Jones. More research needs to be done - in land and court records on-site in Wayne County, Ohio.

In 1840, there were 12 Wise families in Wayne County, Ohio. Peter Wise was in Perry Township, as was a Frederick Wise. He had 1 male 5-9, 2 males 10-14, 1 male 20-29, 1 male 60-69, 2 females 5-9, 1 female 10-14, 1 female 15-19, and 1 female 50-59. Given the age of the eldest male, he could be the father of Peter Wise. Purely speculation.

In 1830, of the 11 Wise families, only Frederick was in Perry Township. There was Abraham, 2 Daniel's, 2 Frederick's, a Jacob, 2 John's, and 3 Peter's. None of the "duplicates" were in the same township, which is good, I guess, but still, how are ya gonna tell them all apart?

When you get back to 1820, there are only 2 Wise families in Wayne County, Henry and John, and both are in Chippewa township.

I think I need to stick with finding my link to Peter and Christina before venturing elsewhere!

After all this, I'm not real sure what my point was with this exercise, except maybe that you shouldn't discount scraps of paper with notes scribbled on them. I've come to realize I have a love-hate relationship with online census indices. And it takes a lot of time to really review and analyze information. And I love the search far more than the analysis. But then, I already knew that.

Monday, January 28, 2008

Part 1 of this series discusses the possible family of Peter and Christina Wise of Wayne County, Ohio and Miami County, Indiana.

Part 2 includes scanned images of two handwritten notes made by my grandmother that shed some light on two of the probable children of Peter and Christina, those being John Wise and Eliza Wise Hoffman. That post dealt primarily with the search for Eliza.

This post will discuss the family of Eliza Wise Hoffman. The numbers within square brackets [x] indicate sources or notes that can be found at the bottom of the post.

The first issue to resolve should probably be the name of Eliza's husband, which is probably Anthony. Referring to the census records in Part 2 we see that he was listed as A. W. Hoffman in the 1870 census. In 1880 he was Andrew W. and in 1900 he was listed as Anthony W. In the Miami County marriage records online [1] he is Anthony Hoffman. In the Ohio Death Record of his daughter Minnie Fluke [2], her father's name is listed as Anthony Wayne Hoffman (and her mother is Eliza Jane Wise).

Eliza Jane Wise was probably born in May 1842 [3] in Wayne County, Ohio [4] and probably died between 1920 and 1930. [5] She married Anthony Hoffman on October 14, 1861 in Miami County, Indiana. [1]

Anthony Wayne Hoffman was born in March 1839 [6] in Ohio. He probably died between 1900 and 1910. [6]

Eliza Jane Wise and Anthony Hoffman had five known children:

1. Minnie Hoffman was born on 08 Dec 1861 in Gilead, Miami County, Indiana [2] died on 18 Jun 1937 in Orange Township, Ashland County, Ohio [2] at age 75, and was buried in Ashland City Cemetery, Ashland County, Ohio. [7] She married Perry M. Fluke about 1882-83. [8]

Perry M. Fluke was born on 08 May 1856 in Orange Township, Ashland County, Ohio [9] died on 05 Mar 1925 in Orange Township, Ashland County, Ohio [9] at age 68, and was buried in Ashland City Cemetery, Ashland County, Ohio. [7]

Minnie Hoffman and Perry M. Fluke had three known children:

i. Kelsey Fluke, son, was born in Oct 1885 in Ohio. [10] No additional information. He is not in the 1910 census with his parents and he doesn't show up in other census searches.

ii. Florence Fluke, daughter, was born in 1887 in Ohio. [10] She was listed in the 1910 census with her parents. My grandmother's note had Florence Sites with an arrow pointing from her name to "Mansfield." A Florence and Harry D. Sites was found in the 1920 (page 2b) and 1930 (page 3b) census records. They are living on South Mulberry Street in Mansfield, Madison Township, Richland County, Ohio. There isn't enough information to determine that the Florence Sites in those census records is the daughter of Minnie and Perry Fluke, but Florence's mother is listed as born in Indiana, Florence is of the right age, and they are living in Mansfield. Florence Sites is not listed in the SSDI but Harry D. Sites is listed at ancestry.com in both the SSDI and Ohio Death Records, which shows his date of death as 21 Mar 1967 in Mansfield, Ohio. The census records show that Florence and Harry Sites had two children, William born about 1918 and Robert born about 1919.

iii. Helen Rose Fluke, daughter, was born on 25 Apr 1894 in Orange Township, Ashland County, Ohio [11] and died on 30 Oct 1918 in Ashland, Ashland County, Ohio [11] at age 24. Her married name was Lersch. The informant was Leo L. Lersch of Ashland, Ohio. Cause of death was pneumonia with contributing cause being influenza.

2. Dayton Hoffman was born in 1863-64 in Indiana. [12] In the Indiana Marriage Collection at www.ancestry.com there is a record of a Dayton Hoffman marrying Mary Smith on 01 Feb 1890 in Miami County (Book C5A page 50). Dayton has not been found in the census records beyond those where he was listed with his parents, in 1870 and 1880. However, a Helen Hoffman born in 1892 and an Ester Huffman born about 1900 show up in later census records with other family members.

1910 Wabash County, Indiana (Pleasant Township page 284) household of John and Effie Wertenberger: Helen Hoffman, niece, 18, born Indiana and another niece, First name illegible Hoffman, age 10 or 12, born Indiana

3. Effie Hoffman was born in Jan 1867 in Indiana. [13] She graduated from Roann High School in 1884, with the first graduating class. [14] She married John Wertenberger about 1887. [13]

John Wertenberger was born in Mar 1873 in Indiana. [15] They did not have any children but the census records show that various family members lived with them at different times. John died between 1920 and 1930 (Effie is listed as a widow in the 1930 census).

Effie and John Wertenberger were found in the following census records:

4. Ella Hoffman was born in 1868 in Indiana. [16] The only record I've found for Ella, other than the census records where she was listed with her parents, is that she graduated with the class of 1888 from Roann High School. [14]

5. Jennie Mae Hoffman was probably born in May 1872 in Indiana [17] and probably died between 1910 and 1920. [18] She married Aaron Gidley on 22 Aug 1896 in Wabash County, Indiana. [19]

Aaron Gidley was born on 11 Jun 1844 in Miami County, Indiana [19] and died on 05 Mar 1923 in Roann, Wabash County, Indiana [19] at age 78. Jennie was his second wife and he had three children by his first wife, Emma Shively. [19]

Jennie Hoffman and Aaron Gidley were the parents of one son:

i. Wayne William Gidley was born on 03 Nov 1898 in Indiana [19]. Wayne was a 1916 graduate of Roann High School. [14] He was enumerated in the household of Effie I. Wertenberger in Wabash County, Indiana (Roann, Paw Paw Township, page 223) in the 1930 census: Wayne W. Gidley, nephew, 29, single, Salesman in a "Day" Store.

The family of Jennie and Aaron Gidley were found in the following census records:

Sources and Notes:[1] Online data, http://freepages.genealogy.rootsweb.com/~berta/micmg/w.html ~ downloaded January 24, 2008. Miami County, Indiana Marriages 1850-1920: Eliza J. Wise to Anthony Huffman on Oct 14 1861 Bk C-1 p201.[2] Death Record of Minnie Hoffman Fluke. FamilySearch Labs Online Database (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/), Ohio Death Records 1908-1953 downloaded January 24, 2008.[3] Eliza was 28 in the 1870 census, 35 in 1880, 58 and born May 1842 in 1900, 65 in 1910.[4] Death Record of Minnie Hoffman Fluke. FamilySearch Labs Online Database (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/), Ohio Death Records 1908-1953 downloaded January 24, 2008. Father given as Anthany Wayne Hoffman and mother was Eliza Jane Wise.[5] Eliza is listed in the 1920 census but was not found in 1930.[6] Anthony's month and year of birth was given as March 1839 in the 1900 census. Eliza is listed as widowed in the 1910 census.[7] Online data, Ashland City Cemetery Records Online downloaded January 24, 2008. http://ftp.rootsweb.com/pub/usgenweb/oh/ashland/cemeteries/ashlandcem.txt?cj=1&o_xid=0002530104&o_lid=0002530104.[8] They had been married 18 years in the 1900 census (Ashland County, Ohio page 2b) and 27 years in 1910 (Ashland County, Ohio page 246).[9] Death Record of Perry M. Fluke. FamilySearch Labs Online Database (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/), Ohio Death Records 1908-1953 downloaded January 24, 2008.[10] 1900 Federal Census, Ashland County, Ohio (Orange Township page 2b). Household of Perry M. Fluke. Kelsey H., son, b. Oct 1885; Florence, daughter, born Jan 1886; Hellen, daughter, forn April 1894.[11] Death Record of Helen Rose Fluke Lersch. FamilySearch Labs Online Database (http://search.labs.familysearch.org/recordsearch/), Ohio Death Records 1908-1953 downloaded January 24, 2008. Father given as Perry M. Fluke born Orange Twp., O. and mother was Libby Hoffman born Gilead, Ind.[12] Dayton Hoffman was age 7 in the 1870 census and 16 years old in the 1880 census.[13] 1900 Federal Census, Wabash County, Indiana (Pleasant Township, page 266a). Enumerated in the household of John Wertenberger: Effie, wife, Jan 1867, 33, married 13 years, no children, born Indiana[14] Roann High School Graduates 1884-1962. http://www.rootsweb.com/~inwabash/grads/roann-hs.html downloaded January 24, 2008.[15] 1900 Federal Census, Wabash County, Indiana (Pleasant Township, page 266a). John Wertenberger, head of household, Mar 1873, 47, married 13 years, born Indiana.[16] Ella was 2 years old in the 1870 census and 12 in 1880.[17] Jennie was 8 years old in the 1880 census, 28 in 1900 (born May 1872), and 35 years old in 1910.[18] Aaron's marital status is listed as widowed in the 1920 census.[19] Ancestry World Tree. Family Record of Aram [sic] T. Gidley downloaded January 23, 2008. online at http://trees.ancestry.com/pt/person.aspx?pid=-1562371906&tid=4585402

The next, and final, post in this series will discuss what information was found on the John Wise family as well as what additional research remains to be done.

Sunday, January 27, 2008

In the post Handwritten Notes and the Wise Family - Part 1 I reviewed the information that I had previously found on the family of Peter and Christina Wise, whom I thought were the parents of Jacob Wise, my 3rd great-grandfather. Assuming that they are, I came up with a list of Jacob's possible siblings, that I have names for. There are at least five other possible siblings for which we have no names.

William born 1821-22.John born about 1831.Hannah born 1826-1831.Elizabeth born 1837 and died May 24, 1854 ae 17y 4m.Eliza J. born 1840-41.Elmira or Emaline, born 1845-46.

In that post I also mentioned some notes my grandmother had written on several pieces of paper that may have shed some light on two of Jacob's siblings, John and Eliza. Those two notes are shown below. They were written in pencil on paper that has now turned yellow. The images have been converted to gray scale and enhanced somewhat to make the writing a bit more legible. Transcriptions follow the images.

At first glance, these lists didn't look like they would be of much use. First off Jacob didn't have a sister named Lyd or Lide and Hoffman is a fairly common name. But the married names of her daughters were all somewhat unusual: Wertenburger, Fluke, and Gidley. On the other hand, the Murry (or Murray?) surname could be a problem. Secondly, the second note is somewhat confusing to read. As far as the locations were concerned, Roanoke is in Huntington County and Roan (Roann) is in Wabash County, both in Indiana. References to Ashland probably indicate Ashland County, Ohio and Mansfield is in Richland County, Ohio.

Since I thought the name Dayton Huffman was a bit unusual, that was my first search on Ancestry. There I found an 1870 census record in Pleasant Township, Wabash County, Indiana, page 48. Dayton was listed as a 7 year old in the household of A. W. and Jane Hoffman. A. W. was a 32 year old sawyer with a personal estate valued at $600 and was born in Ohio. Jane was 28 years old and born in Ohio. The rest of the household members were born in Indiana. In addition to Dayton there was 9 year old Minnie, 5 year old Effa and 2 year old Ella. Was this the right family? The wife's name was Jane, not Lyd, Lide or Eliza. But we knew Eliza's middle initial was J., could she be Eliza Jane? And the names of the children were close. Minnie, Dayton, and Effa.

The 1880 census for Roann, Wabash County, page 39, has the family listed: Andrew W. Hoffman is 40 years old and a clerk in a store. His wife, Eliza J., is 35 years old. Daughter Minnie is 17, son Dayton is 16, daughter Effie is 14, daughter Ella is 12, and daughter Jennie is 8 years old. Both Andrew and Eliza J. were born in Ohio and their parents were born in Pennsylvania. The children were all born in Indiana.

The other entries that showed up in the searches for 1900 and beyond are not this Dayton Hoffman. I have not found any additional information on him yet.

A search for Eliza Hoffman showed her and "Anthony" in Roann, Paw Paw Township, Wabash County, page 240a in 1900. Anthony W. Hoffman was born March 1839 in Ohio, was 61 years old and married 39 years. Eliza J., his wife, was born in May 1842, was 58 years old, had been married 39 years, and was the mother of 5 children with all 5 still living. Listed with them was Helen O. Hoffman, an 8 year old granddaughter, born in Indiana in March 1892.

In 1910, Eliza Hoffman is found in Pleasant Township, Wabash County, page 284. She is listed in the household of John Wertenberger as his mother in law. John was a 51 year old farmer, he had been married twice. His wife, Effie, was 42 years old. She had been married once and had no children. Eliza Hoffman, his Mother in Law, was a 65 year old widow. She had 5 children with all 5 living. Also listed in the household was an 18 year old niece, Helen Hoffman, and another niece either 10 or 12 years old. This part of the census record is nearly illegible and the name of this niece was not deciphered.

Eliza didn't show up in the census index for 1920, but a search for John Wertenberger showed that she was living with him. John Wertenberger is a 66 year old farm operator born in Indiana. His wife, Effie, was 52 years old, also born in Indiana. Eliza Hoffman, Mother-in-law, was a 77 year old widow, born in Ohio with parents born in Pennsylvania. Also living with John was his 27 year old niece Helen Hoffman.

Census searches continued with the Wertenberger, Gidley and Fluke surnames, with great success. I won't go into detail with those searches or other website searches but will instead give a summary of Eliza's children. . . in the next post, since this is getting kind of long.

Friday, January 25, 2008

As stated in previous posts, ad nauseam perhaps, I'm in the process of reviewing the stacks and folders full of paper that have accumulated over the years. One small box includes some papers from my grandmother's files. There are many handwritten notes with no indication of where the information came from. As in the case of two notes found yesterday, it's almost like she was writing down things she remembered or was told or maybe while she was talking with someone. These notes shed some light on two of the siblings of my 3rd great-grandfather, Jacob Wise. I don't recall having seen this information before. If I did, I just didn't pursue it at that time. Those two notes will be included in the next post, but first, some background information on the research I did in the late 1990s attempting to construct the family that I believe to be Jacob's parents.

My grandmother, researching in the 1960s and 1970s, had not been able to discover who the parents of Jacob Wise were. But through information in Jacob's Civil War pension file I knew that Jacob and his wife Malissa Ann Stem had been married in Wayne County, Ohio. Another one of grandma's notes stated that their first son (my grandmother's grandfather) William Pythagrus Wise had been born in Miami County, Indiana in 1852.

With that information and by cranking through the microfilm, I found the family of a Peter and Christina Wise in the census records of Wayne County, Ohio.

1850 Chester Township, Wayne County, Ohio (page 348): Peter Wise, 53, farmer, Real Estate $4000, born Pennsylvania. Included in the household were Christina, age 49 born Pennsylvania; Jacob, 24, born Ohio (as were the other young people); 19 year old John, 14 year old Elizabeth, 10 year old Eliza J., and 5 year old Elmira.

At that time, the late 1990s, I was pretty sure this was the "right" family as the male "child" Jacob was the right age. I also found Malissa's parents, Conrad and Indiana Stem in the same township. They were neighbors. There were other Wise families in Wayne County but this was the only one with a Jacob in the household. I realize that isn't proof, but it is evidence. Right? I took the short trip (an hour or so) to Miami County, Indiana (where Jacob's son was born) to visit the Peru Public Library. It provided cemetery records for a Peter and "C" Wise, which showed they were buried in Gilead Cemetery in Perry township.

Gilead Cemetery transcribed records show in Row Five in the North Section:Peter Wise died January 29, 1875, age 77C. Wise died April 25, 1884 aged 83y 1 m 24d

In Row 5 of the South Section is:Elizabeth Wise died May 24, 1854 ae 17y 4m

Armed with the name of a township, I was able to locate them in the microfilm of the 1860 and 1870 census records.

1860 Gilead, Perry Twp, Miami Co., Indiana (page 194): Peter Wise was a 62 year old farmer and was born in Pennsylvania. Christena was 58 years old and also born in Pennsylvania. Listed with them were Hannah, 29; Eliza J., 19; and Emaline, 14. All born in Ohio. Note that 29 year old Hannah was not listed with Peter and Christina in 1850. And 14 year old Emaline is probably the 5 year old Elmira listed in 1850. Fairly confident that this is the same family that was in Wayne County, Ohio.

1870 Perry Twp, Miami Co., Indiana (page 40): Peter Wise was a 73 year old retired farmer. He owned real estate valued at $1000 and had a personal estate of $450. He had been born in Pennsylvania; his father was of foreign birth. Peter was a citizen of the United States. Christena was 71, keeping house, and had been born in Pennsylvania. Listed with them was Hannah, age 44 and born in Pennsylvania.

Also in Perry Township in 1870 (page 26) was the following family: William Wise, a 49 year old farmer with real estate valued at $5000 and a personal estate of $500. He was born in Pennsylvania and was a citizen of the U.S. Listed in his household were two females 17 year old Wealthy, 14 year old Emeline; and one male, 9 year old Cecillius. All three were born in Indiana. Also listed were James Faris, and 80 year old retired farmer that was born in Virginia and 65 year old Nancy Faris, also born in Virginia.

For whatever reason, I didn't pursue research on them any further. I didn't check for estate papers or land records for Peter and/or Christina in Miami County. I've now added that to my growing list of things that need to be done! Depending upon when and where Peter purchased his property in Miami County, Indiana the land records may show where Peter came from. A will or estate papers may provide a list of his living children.

Though she lived until 1884, Christina has not been located in the 1880 census. Yesterday, I found that William was living in Roann, Paw Paw Township, Wabash County, Indiana (page 44d) in 1880. William Wise was a 58 year old farmer. He was born in Pennsylvania as were his parents. Also listed with him was his (2nd) wife Nancy, 47 years old, born in Pennsylvania and his 19 year old son, Cicilius, who was a laborer, born in Indiana. Given the name of the son, this is the same William found in 1870 in Perry Twp., Miami County. Whether he is a son of Peter and Christina is still not known, but for the time being I am making the assumption that he is.

Also, assuming that the young people listed in the census records are their children, we can build the following possible family structure for Peter and Christina Wise. One thing to keep in mind is that since relationships are not noted in the census records prior to 1880, we can only surmise relationships.

Peter WiseBorn about 1797-98 in Pennsylvania.Died January 29, 1875, age 77.He would be the male age 40-49 in the 1840 census [born 1791-1800]. He was 53 in 1850, 62 in 1860, and 73 in 1870.

Christina Wise, wife of Peter, maiden name not knownBorn March 1, 1801 in Pennsylvania (birth calculated from age at death).Died April 25, 1884 aged 83y 1 m 24d.She would be the female age 30-39 in 1840 [born 1801-1810]. She was 49 in 1850, 58 in 1860, and 71 in 1870.

Possible sons of Peter and Christina Wise:Unknown. 10-14 in 1840, born 1826-1830William. 20-29 in 1840, 49 in 1870, 58 in 1880, born 1821-22Jacob. 10-14 in 1840, 24 in 1850, born 1826. Other records show he was born 08 Dec 1827John. 5-9 in 1840, 19 in 1850, born 1831

Possible daughters of Peter and Christina Wise:Unknown. 15-19 in 1840, born 1821-1825Hannah. 10-14 in 1840, 29 in 1860, 44 in 1879, born 1826-1831Unknown. 10-14 in 1840, born 1826-1830Unknown. 10-14 in 1840, born 1826-1830Unknown. 5-9 in 1840, born 1831-1835Elizabeth, under 5 in 1840, 14 in 1850, born 1835-37. Died May 24, 1854 ae 17y 4mEliza J. under 5 in 1840, 10 in 1850, 19 in 1860, born 1840-41Elmira or Emaline, Elmira was 5 in 1850, Emaline was 14 in 1860, born 1845-46

The information in grandma's notes will be revealed in part 2, and we'll see what was discovered.Related posts:

Thursday, January 24, 2008

According to their website, the Public Archaeology Survey Team, Inc. (PAST) is a private nonprofit organization which specializes in archaeological and historical research and public education in the Northeast. In addition to research projects and public outreach, PAST provides professional cultural resource management consulting services, including archaeological surveys, historic building recordation, museum exhibit design, and preservation planning for archaeological sites, historic buildings and structures, and cultural landscapes.

Among their current projects is the analysis of the voluminous data from four 18th-century house sites. One of those sites is the "Sprague Homestead" of Andover, Connecticut.

"The analysis of this important c. 1705 homestead is progressing, as we inventory the very large artifact assemblage recovered from the site. The house burned down in the 1750s, creating unusually favorable conditions for artifact preservation. Organic items such as food and wood, which would normally be consumed in New England's acidic soil, were preserved by carbonization. Ash filtered through the site, making the soils less acidic and promoting the preservation of bone, antler, fish scales and eggshells. The sheer number of household artifacts is also greater than average because objects burned or broken in the fire were left behind. Well over 100,000 artifacts were found at the Sprague homestead, a wealth of data that are already promising an enhanced understanding of 18th-century foodways and life on the frontier in Connecticut's sparsely settled interior.

"The Sprague site also makes a significant contribution to the interpretation of the 18th-century architectural landscape. Excavation indicates the house took a form that closely resembles post-medieval "long" houses of west England, from which the Sprague family came to Plymouth, Massachusetts, in 1623. Measuring 64 by 16 feet, with an off-center large hearth and a second small corner external chimney at one end, the house form matches no standing historic houses in New England. Perhaps the Spragues were a particularly conservative family, or perhaps this old-style house form was more common than previously thought."

The other three house sites being investigated are the Goodsell House in North Branford, home of Samuel and Lydia Goodsell, the Daniels Homestead in Waterford, home of Thomas and Hannah Keeney Daniels, and The Huntington Homestead in Scotland, which is the birthplace of Samuel Huntington, a signer of the Declaration of Independence and a distinguished statesman during the Revolutionary War. All four sites are in Connecticut. The first three were excavated in 1999, 2000, and 2001.

Wouldn't it be incredible if one of these sites was where your ancestor had lived? Well, I got lucky, again. The Sprague Homestead was settled in 1705 by Captain Ephraim Sprague of Duxbury, Massachusetts. He and his wife, Deborah, are my 6th great grandparents! Insert genealogy happy dance here!!!

There's more. In 2001 an article on the first three sites was published in "CRM No 4", and PAST has posted scanned images of the article on their site. It took some searching but I finally found out that "CRM" is a (now defunct) magazine on Cultural Resource Management that was published by the National Park Service.

The article, "Foodways in 18th Century Connecticut," was written by Ross K. Harper, Mary G. Harper, and Bruce Clouette. It provides details on some of the items found at the sites as well as some background information. I would find the article interesting even if one of the sites wasn't one of my ancestors. It truly is a look into the past.

"The picture of Sprague, only just emerging as the botanical, faunal, and artifact analysis progress, is one of a man who spanned several worlds. He lived in an oldstyle house, kept domesticated animals but also hunted, and enjoyed a fine tea set but still made his own tools of antler and cut-up brass kettles. He was a representative to Connecticut’s assembly, yet fought alongside Native Americans in a colonial and Indian war. Sprague, with his fine cufflinks and large quantity of trade beads, moved easily between roles. The archeological remains of his burned house will permit detailed reconstruction of the foodways of a frontiersman in southern New England, something which has never been done."

I found the link to the 3-page article yesterday at the bottom of the record of Ephraim Sprague in The Sprague Project database, which is coordinated by Richard E. (Dick) Weber. It contains information on more than 278,000 individuals from worldwide families of Sprague and Sprague-derivative names. If you have anyone with the Sprague surname in your family, it's definitely worth a look. It had been a while, like a couple years, since I'd been to the site and thought I'd just check to see if they had any new information. Am I glad I did? You betcha.

I had so much fun responding to Lisa and Donna with Where Was My Family in 1908? and Where were they in 1808? that I decided to go a bit further back in time, 300 years, to 1708. How many ancestors could there be living in 1708? In non-scientific terms, a bunch! LOL. We all know that with each generation, the number of ancestors is doubled - 2, 4, 8, 16, 32, 64, 128, 256, etc. So many ancestors, so little time. We've all heard that before. Probably said it ourselves. But it is so true.

Well, I didn't really think I had information on too many ancestors back that far. Disclaimer: I haven't actually done research in original records on these ancestors myself. However, I have been fortunate and have found books and magazine articles that have been published on several of my lines going back to the immigrant ancestor. Some of those books and articles included very little documentation or sources, while others were quite extensive with their sourcing. I'm always amazed at the work that was done on some of these families back in the first half of the 1900's. Without computers, without copy machines; using index cards, typewriters, printing presses and hand-set type. Chances are, I probably won't pursue many of these lines, since they have already been "done" by other researchers. I would like to have the documents that prove the links between the generations but, honestly, it would be impossible to research them all. It really comes down to time and money. Choices have to be made. I rather enjoy the challenge of searching for families that haven't already been "done" but, I must admit, it is sometimes nice to find someone else has done the hard work.

But, I digress. Taking the time to explore my database is something that I haven't done for a while. And oftentimes after entering the data on a family I don't get back to them until I am contacted by someone else researching that family. As a result, I sometimes have a tendency to forget what or how much information I have on some families. It's been nice to have an excuse to explore the database.

So, I ran some reports, did some extrapolating, and found that, in my database, there are 68 of my ancestors who were living in 1708. Obviously, there are many, many more living then, I just don't know who they are! And it is highly likely that I never will, after all, there is only so much time.

A summary of who was living in 1708:

3 of 256 ancestors in the 8th Generation (5th Great Grandparents)18 of 512 in the 9th Generation (6th Great Grandparents)13 of 1024 in the 10th Generation (7th Great Grandparents)15 of 2048 in the 11th Generation (8th Great Grandparents)17 of 4096 in the 12th Generation (9th Great Grandparents)2 of 8192 in the 13th Generation (10th Great-Grandparents)

Forty-four of those ancestors were born in the colonies: 10 in New York, 11 in Connecticut and 23 in Massachusetts. The others were all born in the "old" country, and some were still living there. The 3 ancestors in the 8th generation and one in the 9th generation were born between 1700-1707. Several in the 12th and 13th generations were born in the 1636-1638 time period. I don't have dates of death for all of them, but of those that I do have, 21 of them lived to be 70 years old or older (8 of those were over 80 and one was 91 years old at time of death). That amazes me, as I didn't think life-spans were much over 60 years in the 1600s and 1700s.

Enough, already. It's been fun, but I really do need to get started on that long list of "goals" for this year that still awaits me.

Tuesday, January 22, 2008

I came across these two articles, while looking for something else. As always, I seem to get "lost" in the newspapers, usually spending way more time in them than I should. I thought it was funny (not funny "ha ha" but funny in a strange way) that two of my families would have small house fires within the same week. These articles also show one of the hazards of life in the early years of the last century. They offer another glimpse into the past. Newspapers are one of my favorite resources, and I'm thankful everytime I find a little gem on any of my families.

A Sunday night fire alarm called the fire department a half square south of the fire engine house at 7:10 o'clock to the home of Mrs. William Brubaker, who resides in half the Isaac M. Swigart property on South Chauncey street, with Mel Worden and family, and incidentally filled the streets with more people than have been seen for many weeks on Sunday night.

Incidentally the fire amounted to but little, but the uproar caused by the city plant fire whistle, and the furious clanging of the fire bell, would have made a stranger think the city was ablaze. They came running from every direction, with the exception of a few wise ones, who asked the telephone centrals, and then looked for signs of smoke in the air.

Mrs. Brubaker had lighted a coal oil stove to heat some water for Mrs. Worden who was suffering from a nervous headache. A leak in the stove had accumulated some drippings in the ban beneath the burner, and it flashed to the ceiling, when she applied the match to it. Mel Worden ran in, and had the necessary courage and presence of mind to pick the stove up and carried it out in the yard. Some one phoned the department, and Sam Jolly threw the switch to notify the plant and the fellows down there did the rest.

The wall paper along the side of the kitchen was scorched and blacked as was a part of the ceiling, and a bad blaze might have broken out, but it was easily extinguished. Mr. Swigart the owner of the property has $1000 insurance, and the damage will be slight. He lives on the same lot, but was confined to his home with an attack of lumbago.

Mel Worden had the palms of his hands painfully scorched while carrying the stove out of the house, but was able to go to work Monday at the Harper Buggy Co. where he is employed. Had the flames got a good start, things would have been right interesting around the buggy factory, as the Swigart house is but a short distance from it.

The fire whistle that blew at 11:40 o'clock Monday noon, was for the third fire that has occurred in a week's time. On this occasion Carl Wolford is the man who gave the alarm, and the fire department dashed west on Market street to the corner of Market and Elm, where they went south and then west to the home of Henry Phend, the well known contractor.

A spark from the kitchen stove set fire to the roof, and the family was not aware of the fire until neighbors and friends began to overflow the yard. Just at the time that the fire department was called, rain began to fall in great gobs, and aided materially in drenching the fire that might have burned down the home. The damage will probably reach $1.50, according to Fire Chief C. G. Doriot.

The fire department was called out last Sunday night to the home of Mrs. Wm. Brubaker, in the Isaac Swigart property on South Chauncey street, and a loss of $5 was sustained there.

On Saturday forenoon just before the Brubaker fire, another incipent blaze in the rear end of Feaster's grocery was quelled, when Orval Pence discovered it, and no alarm was put in.

Last Friday afternoon the department was called to the Lee F. Johnson home on account of a fire that destroyed his barn and that of Vallorous Beck. It is claimed to have been caused by the work of some small boys playing who had a furnace fire in an adjoining lot.

Since I haven't done quite as much research on my dad's side, there are only 23 ancestors known to be living in 1808, including 1 Second-Great Grandparent, 12 Third-Great Grandparents, and 10 Fourth-Great Grandparents.

And no, I'm not going to list them all here ;-)

With the exception of the Phend, Fisher and Wiseman families, all of my other ancestral lines had arrived in the United States by 1808. Most of them were farmers. In 1808 they lived in Connecticut, Massachusetts, Vermont, New York, Pennsylvania, Maryland, Virginia, Ohio, and Kentucky.

Still on the other side of the pond in 1808 were: Susanna Kübla, single and 23 years old. She may still have been living at home with her parents Jacob and Verena Laederich Kübla near Gsteig in Bern, Switzerland. Susanna would later marry Johannes B'hend, who with his first wife, Barbara Wys, were probably living in the Interlaken district of Bern. My Wiseman family also came from Bern but Charles wouldn't be born until 1815 and we don't know who his parents were. Michael Fisher and Christena Houck would have been young children. They reportedly came from Germany but since Germany didn't exist yet, it's anybody's guess. We don't know their parents either.

The longest-lived father-son ancestors were probably William Washington Alexander who was born in Feb 1777 in Cecil County, Maryland. He died at age 94 on 16 Feb 1871 in Marysville, Union County, Ohio. His son, William Alexander was born on 20 Nov 1805 in Erie County, Pennsylvania. He died on 07 Apr 1899 at age 93, in Washington Township, Kosciusko County, Indiana.

Born in the year 1808, on January 8th, Elizabeth Ann Schuder was the daughter of Christian Schuder Sr. and Anna Eva Christina Stoever. They lived in Berks County, Pennsylvania at that time. Christian and Anna both lived to be 80 years old. Elizabeth would later marry William Lavering who was born on 28 Aug 1797 "somewhere" in Pennsylvania. In the "History and Genealogy of the Levering Family" by Col. John Levering, published in 1897, the Colonel described our William as "a dropped stitch in the family fabric in the sixth generation" because he could not place him within the context of the known descendants of either of two brothers, Wigard and Gerhard Levering.

A rather long-lived couple was Anna Eva Christina's parents, Johann Casper Stoever III and Anna Maria Barbara Nagel. He was born on 10 Mar 1735/36 in Earltown, Lancaster County, Pennsylvania and died in Jul 1821 in Germantown, Montgomery County, Ohio at age 85. She was born on 13 Feb 1740/41 in Blackenlock, Baden-Durlach, "Germany" and died on 21 Sep 1821 in Montgomery County, Ohio at age 80. Johann and Anna are also "double-ancestors" being Third-Great Grandparents as well as Fourth-Great Grandparents.

Eleven year old first cousins, Samuel Bray and Susannah Ball, both born in Kentucky in 1797, would marry 13 years later, in 1821. Samuel's parents were John and Nancy Bray and were probably living in Nelson County while Susannah's parents, James and Margaret "Peggy" Bray Ball were most likely living in Owen County.

A Dutch and New York connection comes into play with the Van Curen family. Henry Van Curen was born on 09 Feb 1783 in New Hurley, Ulster County, New York and was the son of Jacob Van Keuren and Elisabet Terwilliger. Henry's wife Rebecca (surname possibly Ostrander) was born about 1793 somewhere in New York. The names of her parents are not known. Just as a side note, and because I think it's kind of neat, in 1646, 162 years earlier, Jacob Van Keuren's 2nd Great Grandfather (and my 8th Great Grandfather), Mathij Jansen Van Keulen was granted a patent by the Dutch Government for 100 acres of land located on the north eastern tip of Manhattan Island that was known as Van Keulen's Bouwerie.

A Lutheran minister, William Foster (born Wilhelm Georg Forster) was 59 years old in 1808. A year earlier he had moved with his wife, Magdalena Daniel, and their 12 children, from the Shenandoah Valley of Virginia to the wilderness of what would become Perry county, Ohio. From 1805-1807 William had served as a "traveling preacher" in Ohio. Prior to that he had served several congregations in Virginia for 15 years. He organized at least three Lutheran congregations in what is now Perry County, Ohio. In addition to being a Lutheran minister, William became a large landowner. When he died in 1815 his bequest to each of his 12 children was 160 acres. That's pretty incredible. But what I think is even more amazing is that all except one of his 12 children were still living when he died!

Friday, January 18, 2008

Earlier this week Nikki-Ann purchased a mini photo studio for taking pictures of some of her collectibles. She has a couple of nice examples of the results. The "studio" she mentions sells for about $80 here in the states.

We all have things we'd like to photograph but maybe the cost doesn't quite fit into your budget, can't be justified or perhaps you only have a few things to photograph. The alternative to buying a mini studio is to make one yourself!

Sure. Well, I found two versions of a photo studio/light box you can build yourself and both seem do-able. One is of a temporary nature and is created from a cardboard box while the other is more permanent and uses a frame constructed with PVC pipe. Both sites provide excellent directions. With a little ingenuity, I think these could even be used for taking pictures of photographs that can't be scanned, such as those pasted in albums that would be destroyed if scanned or those too large for the scanner. The light boxes should help eliminate hot spots usually caused by harsh, direct lighting.

I think I might give the cardboard box a try next week. A box, a little tape, and some tissue paper. What could be easier? We'll see.

The photos above show the studio that can be purchased, one that is made from a cardboard box, and one made with PVC pipe. The pictures were obtained from the following sites:

Jasia has posted the Carnival of Genealogy, 40th Edition and this is one you really shouldn't miss! The topic for this edition is: living-relative connections. So, head on over to learn how other researchers have benefited (or not) from making those contacts!

Jasia has also issued a Call For Submissions! for the next Carnival:

"We're going to switch the focus from living relatives to deceased ones. The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy will be: If you could have dinner with four of your ancestors who would they be and why? Here's a chance to exercise your imagination... Would you have dinner in the present day or in one of their eras? Would you dine out or opt for a home cooked meal? What would you discuss at the dinner table? What would you most like to share with them about your life? This topic was suggested by footnoteMaven who I'm sure you've heard is feeling poorly. Let's cheer her up with some interesting reading while she's convalescing! The deadline for submitting articles is February 1st."

Thursday, January 17, 2008

Kimberly Powell recently gave us her selection of 10 Genealogy Blogs Worth Reading. I'd be very hard-pressed to come up with a list of just 10, there are so many talented people writing interesting articles in the genea-blogoshere. Congratulations to everyone that was mentioned. Keep it up, you're doing a great job! There are some very good blogs listed at the right in my sidebar, why not check them out too.

Denise Olsen challenged genea-bloggers to find and spotlight a blog offering local or family history in her post Making Connections: Blogs. I've been keeping an eye out for quite some time for other genea-bloggers from Indiana or those with Hoosier roots, but have pretty much come up empty. Many of the Genealogy and Historical Societies in Indiana have websites, but so far, no blogs that provide information of a historical nature. If you come across any in your web surfing, please let me know about them.

The Indy Star asked readers to tell their stories about life in Indiana for a special feature in the paper asking for "the sights and sounds that settle into your soul and make this place truly home." The response was so positive that they turned the stories into a regular online feature called My Indiana. I haven't had a chance to read too many of them yet, but I'm definitely going back to read more. They are wonderful little vignettes of the past.

And, somehow, I missed posting about my one-year anniversary; it's now been one year and five days since my first post here at kinexxions back on January 12, 2007. In that first year there have been 335 posts. Some good, some not so good. But it has been an amazing journey thus far and I thank everyone who has provided support and left comments. 'Tis appreciated. I've learned a lot and gained much more than I ever expected.

Wednesday, January 16, 2008

As I was indexing articles from my newspaper clippings file I discovered this gem published on Friday, November 23, 1917 in The Evening Post, Columbia City, Indiana. Just a glimpse of how things used to be.

The fastest flying machine is gossip.

There is always room on the sunny side of the road; let us walk there.

When the sparerib is put to roast sprinkle it lightly with powdered sage and minced onion.

It is an easy matter to size up a man if his dog crawls under the house when it sees him approaching.

Sifted coal ashes, mixed with a little vinegar, make a splendid mixture for polishing faucets, brass kettles and the like.

Tack pieces of rubber, cut from overshoes, to the bottom of the step-ladder legs, and they will not slide on a slippery floor.

Whenever a bottle has been emptied, wash it right out, and do not set it away to dry. You can clean it more easily by doing this.

The cork in a bottle of cement or glue is apt to stick and break when it is opened for the second time. To prevent this, grease it lightly when first taken out.

If housewives would have rubber heels and soles on their every-day shoes, they would find much discomfort from aching, tired feet would be avoided.

Cabbage is more delicate if, after it is boiled a little while, it is turned out into a colander and cold water run over it; then put again in boiling water and finished.

After boiling salt ham or tongue, remove it from the fire and plunge it at once in cold water. This instantly loosens the skin, which then pulls off without any trouble.

Save the good pieces of the men's winter underclothes. From them you can make the children some shirts, drawers and petticoats that will be as warm and last nearly as long as new. Saves money, too.

Have buttons, or hooks and eyes, for the slips you use on the sofa-pillows. Then you can often take the pillows out and wash the slips. Saves a lot of sewing and the slips are apt to get washed a good deal oftener.

A handy funnel for pouring liquid into a bottle may be quickly made any where by taking a piece of thick, smooth white paper, rolling it into a cornucopia and fastening it with a pin. Cut the pointed end off and it's ready to use.

When any one is taken ill in the night and needs a quick application of heat, light a lamp. The chimney will be hot in a moment and will answer until water or a brick can be heated. It can be slipped into a stocking leg and applied at once.

Knit the baby's mittens without any thumb; then, no matter which way they are put on, they are all right. If large enough he can move his fingers all around inside, while the long wrists keep the sleeves of his dress down over his arms and make him comfortable.

It saves much hard work in keeping heavy bedclothes tidy under the usage they ordinarily receive from the boys and hired men, to have a breadth of muslin or calico firmly basted over the upper end of quilts and bed comforters. This can be removed often and washed with much less work than to put the whole big comforter in the tub.

Light and wholesome griddle-cakes: Pare the crust from a stale loaf of baker's or light home-made bread, crumb it into a porcelain dish and pour over it a pint of boiling milk. Cover and let it stand for ten minutes. When it swells, add the yolk of two eggs, well beaten, a tablespoon of melted butter, a half-teaspoonful of salt, a fourth of a cupful of sifted flour and the stiffly beaten whites of the eggs. Then beat until the batter is smooth and velvety as cream. Add no baking powder, as the beating makes it light. Drop it in little cakes on a hot griddle; bake quickly.

Lemon and water taken early each morning has become a common drink among women who value their complexions. Nothing keeps the digesting in better condition. Since sugar is not used, there is no danger of acid even for gouty and rheumatic subjects. Do not use too much lemon. The juice of a third or half the fruit is enough. To keep the cut lemon fresh for several days is something of a problem. Cut off the section to be used and squeeze the juice from the cut portion. The rest can be turned, cut side down, in a cup or it can be put in the same position on waxed paper. This should be big enough to fold over the lemon and keep out the air. Treated in either of these ways, a lemon will keep several days even in hot weather. Do not stand in warm closet nor where the fruit will freeze.

Monday, January 14, 2008

The topic for the next edition of the Carnival of Genealogy is: Living-relative connections made during your research processes and/or blog.

To say that I have made connections with a "few" living relatives would be an understatement. It was in the early-1980s when I was bitten by the genealogy bug and in the intervening 25+ years there have been so many wonderful people that I've met as a result of researching my family history.

One of the first distant-cousins I met was Lowell Yarian. It was on my first research trip to Westmoreland County, Pennsylvania when I was looking for information on my 5th great grandfather, John George Yerion, and his children. At the Westmoreland County Historical Society Library in Greensburg, I found a lot of information, but perhaps most important was when I signed the guest book. I looked to see who had been there earlier that year. I was amazed that I had traveled all the way to Pennsylvania to find someone doing research on "my family" and he lived in Warsaw, Indiana just a few miles from where I was living!

Needless to say, I contacted Lowell upon my return home and we met several times. He had a tremendous amount of information since he was essentially researching everyone with the Yarian surname as well as its variations. The thing with Lowell that kind of irritated me at the time was that he didn't actually give me the information I was looking for, rather he provided me with the sources where he'd found the information which "forced" me to search for the information myself. If he had original documents that provided the information, he'd give me copies, but if it was from a book or newspaper or other source he'd only give me the name of the source, which meant that if I really wanted the information I had to get it myself. He also didn't overwhelm me with too much information. In both cases, I'm now glad that he did it that way. Things don't always mean as much if they are handed to you on a platter. The sad thing is, Lowell passed away a few years ago and I have no idea what happened to all the information he had gathered. In recent years, Carl Bennett has been another important contact, providing information on our immigrant ancestor Mathias Irion (which became Yarian, among other variations).

It was in 1986 that I began the research for "The Phend Family" book. I don't know how many letters I wrote during that process, but it was in the hundreds over the course of five years. Contact with one family member led to contact with many others. The letters I wrote explained who I was, what I was attempting to do, and how I thought the correspondent was related to me. I also included a family group sheet with all the information I had on their family. Sometimes that was little more than the persons name. It was truly an amazing experience. And quite gratifying. Virtually everyone who responded (and most of them did respond) included information on their family along with addresses. As it got closer to publication, they also sent family stories and photographs. The book was self-published in 1991 and of the 300 copies printed, 250 were ordered prepaid. Of the remaining 50 copies ten were donated to libraries and 25 were sold later. If anyone would like a copy, I still have a few left to sell ;-)

While gathering information for that book I went to Holmes County, Ohio where one branch of the family had lived. After a few days researching I had found the name of a living descendant. I looked her up in the phone directory, gathered up the nerve, and made the call. It was a bit awkward at first, since the relationship was so far back (she was a descendant of the half sister of my 2nd great grandfather) but thankfully, after a bit of talking, the Phend surname surfaced as a distant memory. She invited me to her house and we spent a delightful afternoon talking. She was able to fill in some of the blanks with her siblings and parents. I'm still a bit nervous when I make a call like that but in almost every case, it has turned out quite well.

In addition to the trip to Ohio, I also went to Iowa and Colorado to meet with several of the cousins in those states that I had been corresponding with. They opened their homes to me, allowed me to copy photographs and documents (copied with a camera since I didn't have a scanner at the time), told me stories and provided invaluable information. The ladies I met in Iowa have been deceased for a number of years, but I'm still in contact with some of the folks in Colorado.

There have been numerous contacts made on several different families through posts on GenForum and other message boards as well as from my Kinexxions website and this blog. I've also gotten a lot of inquiries from my Bray and Wiseman database on WorldConnect. It was through WorldConnect that I made contact with the brother-in-law of my 3rd cousin, Kent Scott. His great-grandmother was Susanna Wiseman, a sister of my great-grandfather, Samuel Bray Wiseman. Kent had the Charles Wiseman Family Bible and after some phone calls and correspondence, I became the proud owner of that bible and the Mystery Photos stored within it!

In November, I attended the fourth reunion of the descendants of Lysander & Lydia Joslin in Springfield, Missouri. How we made contact with each other probably deserves a post of its own, it is a long and convoluted story. Suffice to say, we have shared far more than information, documents and photographs with each other. We have built a relationship that I cherish.

I've been very fortunate with most of the contacts that have been made. Usually the sharing goes both ways, giving and receiving, with 'thank you' being said on both sides. However, not every contact has been beneficial. Occasionally I'll send information to someone and not get anything in return. But for the most part, I've enjoyed meeting new relatives, even if only via email. There are many more relatives in some of my other lines that I've made contact with, and the examples recounted here are just a few.

Sunday, January 13, 2008

The photo below is of four of the daughters of Lysander and Lydia Robison Joslin. It has been retouched to remove some writing that partially identified three of the four women. From that, and comparison of other photographs that have been identified, the ladies are:

The only daughter not pictured, that would have been living at the time, was Ida Blanch Joslin Dressler Lewis (1863-1937). There is a picture of Ida and her husband at the bottom of this post. A picture of Lysander and Lydia can be found in this post.

I received the scanned image from a fourth cousin, Jane (descendant of Roxie), in April 2000 about six months after we made contact via the internet. She received the image file from another descendant of Roxie.

We don't know where or when the picture was taken but Anna Eliza died in July 1885. Della was married at the age of 17 in July 1884, perhaps they got together then. Malissa was living in Whitley County, Indiana at that time while Anna Eliza lived in Jefferson County, Iowa. Roxie was probably still in Barton County, Kansas as was Della.

Saturday, January 12, 2008

Letter to Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower from her sister, Ida Joslin Dressler Lewis. A copy of this letter was made by Irwin Joslin from my grandmother's files. The location of the original is not known. I received a copy of the transcribed letter in November 2007 from George and Lorene Joslin. This is the transcription that was done by Irwin Joslin. You will probably notice that he "cleaned up" her spelling, which makes it easier to read, but perhaps loses some of the "flavor" of her previous letters.

This is the last letter from Ida. She passed away on March 8, 1937 "of pneumonia which followed influenza" but, more likely the cause was that "Mrs. Lewis died of shock when told of her husband's death last Friday by a friend who visited her at the hospital." Ida and her husband had both spent the previous three weeks in the hospital. [1]

Joe is Ida's son Joseph Dressler who lived in New Mexico. Belva is Joe's wife. Lolo is their daughter, Lola. She was a teacher from 1926-1929 at Ewing School in Torrance County, New Mexico. Lola married Irvin Taylor. Just yesterday I found them in the 1930 census living in Inyo County, California. From the California Death Index, I learned that Lola died March 1, 1983 in Los Angeles. Though Joe and Belva Dressler apparently had health issues (mentioned in the previous letters), they both lived into the 1960s.

Malissa passed away September 30th, just about 7 months after Ida. Their sister, Roxie Parkison, died on March 5, 1941 and their other sister, Della Quillen, mentioned in the other letters, died on February 7, 1943.

No date, probably the fall of 1936. Sounds like it was an election year.==+==+==+==+==+==+==

My dear dear sister, So glad to get your letter, but it makes me sad for I know the end is near for us buy why should we be sad. It is only the passing on to a new life but I can’t help being lonely for my loved ones. I just ask God to give me grace to carry on until He comes. I’m feeling much better. I went to church yesterday. Friends brought me home. Heard a wonderful sermon. Our new pastor is a young man from Louisville, Ky. and he is a marvelous man. Just preaches the old, old fashioned religion of Jesus and Him crucified for us. It gives me new strength to hear such encouraging words - the old, old story ever new.

This is such a beautiful day. I long to be out but can’t go alone. I get all the news of both sides - Roosevelt - Landon - Smith governor to be of Missouri. The radio gives me everything and it helps to pass away many otherwise lonely hours. I guess it made you sadder to bid your boy goodbye forever. I don’t know as I will ever see Joe again although he always says he will come when he can get away from his farm. I wrote him it would be too late if he kept putting it off but I know its hard to get away from the farm. He is not well. Neither is his wife. Just working themselves to death - children all worried. Still they don’t seem to know how to let up. They always say - “just one more year” - but they keep right on.

The youngest boy, with his family, lives on Joes farm. He built a house for him. The other one not far away but Lolo is the one Belva wants near her but she is a long way off. Only comes every year but she seems happy with her husband and two boys. Guess she won't have any more. I hope not. The youngest is 3 ½ - the other one 6 - going to Kindergarten. Lolo gives them a good start as she taught school several terms before she married Ervin. I wonder why Roxie don’t write. I’m afraid she is very poorly and she is so alone - has three daughters and not one near her. It don’t seem right - and she is so lonely. I wish I had something pleasant to write you. But seems I can’t. But everything comes from my heart and I feel very near to you when I’m writing. Oh how I wish you could sit on my porch in the sunshine and we could have a visit - and it would help us. But if I was able physically I would drop in on you. But that will never be so lets keep in close touch by writing and in that way we can help one another.

Sam thinks Landon will make a good President and he will cast his first vote for a Republican President. [2]

Tuesday - 10:00 a.m.A cool dreary morning - going to rain. How did the flowers look I sent you? I’m feeling fair this A.M. Hubby has gone to Kansas for the day - working. No word from sisters this A.M. - Charity drive is on - they will be at my door today but I’ve nothing for them - I know too much about them - its a lark for the swells to get out in the expensive cars, new coats of fur that cost hundreds of dollars and tell us what we ought to do, etc. Well, we have several millionaires here - they are the ones to give. Election here will be terrible - probably bloodshed. Its a bitter fight and we think a close run. 300 registered here from empty houses - Democrats. The police is trying to run them down. Well, we hope

[The rest of the letter is missing. . . . ]

[1] Obituary of Ida Joslin Dressler Lewis published on March 8, 1937 in the Columbia City Post, Whitley County, Indiana.[2] Alfred Mossman Landon was governor of Kansas 1933-1937. A Republican, he was defeated in his bid for the Presidency in 1936 by Franklin D. Roosevelt. (Wikipedia)

Friday, January 11, 2008

Letter to Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower from her sister, Ida Joslin Dressler Lewis. A copy of this letter was made by Irwin Joslin from my grandmother's files. The location of the original is not known. I received a copy in November 2007 from George and Lorene Joslin. This is the transcription done by Irwin Joslin. You'll probably notice that he "cleaned up" her spelling, which makes it easier to read, but perhaps loses some of the "flavor" of her previous letters.

Joe is Ida's son, Joseph Dressler. Belva is his wife. Sam is Ida's husband, Sam Lewis. Babe is the youngest child of Roxie Joslin Parkison, Gladys Parkison Elder, who lived in Cardin, Oklahoma in 1930 but moved to San Diego, California.

Not dated - possibly written in January 1935. In the previous letter, which I think was written in December 1934, Ida mentioned that she had written three letters to Roxie. And she mentions that here also.

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Dear Sister, the new year has just began and because you are lonely I’ll write you. Always so glad to hear from you but first I must pick a bone with you. One letter was addressed to Kansas City, Mo. - no street number. It came after Christmas. Then one came today addressed to Wabash, Kansas City, MO. - no street number. They have a hard time locating me and for a wonder they looked me up instead of returning it to you. So no harm done but its a wonder they went to that much trouble as they are very important here in their own imagination.

This is beautiful weather - snow all gone - some ice remains and nasty and muddy a few days before Christmas. I started out and fell off the stone steps on the concrete walk - skinned my knee up pretty bad but, oh was I lucky. I might have broken bones. I’m all right now and rally happy that I was so lucky but I haven’t been out of the house. My legs are not what they used to be and so many have had awful bad falls and are in the hospital - its terrible here. Now the day before Christmas my little girl friend came and brought mince meat she made and made a nice fat mince pie and I believe I’ll make up the rest this afternoon. Sam will be glad to get it for his supper tonight. His cousin wrote us they would send us a chick when they could get to town - roads terrible.

Did I tell you they have taken Belva (Joe's wife) 160 mile from home to a hot springs. A woman doctor (I hate them). Maybe they will finish her money. Joe is awfully worried. He can write often when he is in trouble. I’m sure they are giving her the wrong treatment but I won’t say a word that might discourage him. They will have to fight it out alone as I have always had to do. Sam is so strong and well - fat, ragged, and sassy. I’m glad he is. How quick they will gobble him up when I’m gone so I’m just holding on - just sticking around and he actually seems to want me but the time is coming when one must walk alone but it won’t be for long as we are both getting near the end. I know Della will be awfully glad to hear from you and if you addressed it right she will answer you if she is at all able. Let me know for even though her children are with her she to is lonely, a great sufferer and a shut in. I believe Roxie is bed ridden or gone as she never answers. I have written three times. They didn’t come back so the children might get them. Babe is or was in San Diego, California. She is the one I would expect to write me but not a word has come. And, of course, I can’t help but worry as I can’t rely on the old “saw” that no news is good news.

Well, the cat has come in for its supper - the golden sun is sinking in the West - the mince pie is still to be baked, so I’ll quit. I love to hear from you so don’t wait so long for the end is near for both of us but I do mourn for my loved ones these Christmas and holiday times that had meant so much to me but they are happy their suffering is over.

John 11th at Lazarus’ grave - Jesus said “I am the resurrection and the life - He that believeth in me though he were dead, yet shall be live and whosoever liveth and believeth in me shall never die”. Comforting words to me.

Now I hope this will be a Happy New Year to you and me both. Perhaps it is best we don’t know what is in store for us in the future. Goodbye sister dear - I might send you some more candy when

Thursday, January 10, 2008

Letter to Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower from her sister, Ida Joslin Dressler Lewis. A copy of this letter was made by Irwin Joslin from my grandmother's files. The location of the original is not known. I received a copy in November 2007 from George and Lorene Joslin.

Sam is Ida's Husband. Joe is Ida's son, Joseph Dressler, and Belva is Joe's wife. They lived in New Mexico. Lolo (actually Lola) is the daughter of Joe and Belva. Della and Roxie are Ida's sisters Della Quillen and Roxie Parkison, they lived in South Carolina and Oklahoma, respectively.

The letter is not dated but Ida makes reference to it being after Christmas. She also states that Malissa is 85 ½ years old. Malissa was born June 24, 1849 so I'm guessing that this letter was written the last week of December 1934. The first paragraph of this one might make a bit more sense if we knew what Malissa had written to Ida...

==+==+==+==+==

Sunday afternoon.

Dear Sister, this is an awfully cold day, snow a little this a m but has turned bitter cold. I could not venture out to church this a m but Sam went to represent the family. They are going to have a big time thare to nite. Three churches combining with a speaker from Forin misonery but I'll not go out. And you want me to die and leave my dear Sam alone now isent that funney but you were always that way so I don't mind it but its strange how some people want others to die when thay are not in any bodys way. Well I never felt that way in my life about any one when those I love and I know love me. I want them to live on to be with me to help and comfort me and maby I can help them in a way to bare thare burden. I suppose thare are some that are waiting for you to pass out but as for me I hope you may live on as long as you enjoy life and can write to me. I like to git your letters even thou you are 85 ½ years old but I know it can't be long and if I should out live you I will be very very sad. I'm ready when my dear Savior calls me so let us not worry about thoes things as that is our Lords Business and he will take us home when he is ready.

Well a letter came from Joe & Belva that made me heart sick. While Joe and son Chester (his wife stayed with Belva) was at the Hospital 160 miles from home the man (Mexican) they left in charge, he had been employed by Joe, stole all thare clothing, the beautiful cloaths I sent them and lovely keep sakes, two suits of Chesters, shoes, shirts, all of Joes cloaths, 3 new comforts, all thair meat canned, fruit, etc. Just cleaned them out. Took Joes Truckto pack them away in but brought it back. Stock tied up in Barn. He has about one hundred head cows, mules, horses etc. Joe had just written how desolate and bad off with Belva so bad off but now he surley has something to worry him. I hate to think of the thief wearing all those lovely shirts, suits, flanel pajamas etc. that I might have kept for Sam as he could have worn them all, both 6 ft weigh 200 lbs, but Belva says it might have been worse but at that it made her worse. She is quite bad off. I doubt if she recovers and I want her to live. She is young. Joe loves her and needs her. She wants to live, asks me to Pray for her. You see someone has need of me and I'll try to help in my small way.

A letter came from Lolo. She seems happy with her 2 little Boys and her husband. I'll send you thair Pictures, just snap shots, but please return when you ans [answer] me. I haven't a word from Della or the girls since before Christmas but I'm sure if she gets your letter she will ans [answer] if she is able. I'm worried about Roxie. I'm sure she is gone or something has happened as she never treated me this way before and some one gets her mail. Three letters have never came back. Well write me as soon. Sam don't feel very good this afternoon. Guess he eats to much. It's 5 pm and getting dark. I wonder if you still have that church certific of Mothers.

Lovingly from sister Ida, no I'm not mad I just think you are funny! So will I be at 85.

Wednesday, January 09, 2008

Letter to Malissa Joslin Brubaker Bower from her sister, Ida Joslin Dressler Lewis. A copy of this letter was made by Irwin Joslin from my grandmother's files. The location of the original is not known. I received a copy in November 2007 from George and Lorene Joslin.

Malissa was living in Columbia City, Indiana. Ida lived in Kansas City, Missouri with her second husband, Sam Lewis. Joe is Ida's son, Joseph Dressler who would have been living in Torrance County, New Mexico. Della is Ida's sister, Della Quillen, who lived in South Carolina.

Spelling has been transcribed as it was written though punctuation and paragraphs have been added to make it easier to read. Ida's handwriting is atrocious and she used hardly any punctuation, which makes the letters somewhat difficult to decipher. Bad writing and all, I'm very grateful to have these few letters that have survived.

Sister dear, its such a beautiful morning, sunshiney, crisp, lovely. I would like to take a long ride out in the woods. They say they are beautiful. The leaves are going fast. So are we. But the new life is more beautiful. I'm very much better. This new treatment, 4 tablets a day, is helping my general health. Of course, I'm still suffering pain in my swollen joints. My wrist is the worst but I don't suffer as bad as I did.

We have our rugs secured, floors polished, screens out, old vines taken down, etc. Still thare is a lot of work to do yet but Sam can do most of it when he is not busy. I got beautiful lace curtains for my living room this fall. Our house needs redasking [?] its stucco and painting but it will have to do this year. Living is surely high. Sam pays more for everything he needs for his work and works for less. The union have cut thair price so he must keep below them to get the work but he keeps going. He's strong and healthy and I'm awfully thankful.

My Joe is not strong & never quite well. The Dresslers are not strong. His father has been dead a great many years so are nearly all of their folks. Joes wife has never quite recovered from her gall bladder operation. Was going to be xrayed for another operation (maby). Joe was running for a Political job. Haven't herd how he came out. I hope he was defeated. He is to clean and decent to mix with the class that is now running the country. Conditions are tearable but its not only here its every where. Our Bible teacher said last Sunday Saten was runing the country now. It surely looks that way.

Well, I've got rested and will try it again. I'm making ice box rools [rolls ?] besides lots of other work but so thankful I can. Haven't herd from Roxie for a long time. I think its wonderful you keep so well. My dearest friend passed on to that other home, aged 82 years. She was a mother to me. Another dear friend died 4 weeks after she buried her husband and I miss her so but after his death she couldn't make the grad [grade?], just layed down and quit, no children, just those old folks alone. She was 60, he was 70. And so it goes. Had a beautiful home and were very happy after 35 years of married bliss.

Dear sister Della says the Lord is coming in the clouds. So be it. I'm ready to live so am ready to die for the Lord sayed who so ever will may come and that included me. I'm tire of writing, my wrist pains, ans [answer] when you can. It seems to me you have a easy life as you are nearing the setting sun, and I'm glad you have, but of course you must be lonely too.

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In addition, it would be nice if you would send an email to kinexxions@gmail.com to let me know you are using my content. You never know, I may have more information you could use - or perhaps you might have information that I don't have.

I am more than happy to share my work. However, lots of time and energy has gone into this family history research and it 'ticks me off' to see my hard work in someone else's online tree or website and they make it appear to be their own work. If you do that, and I find out about it, you will be contacted!

The content of this site cannot be used for commercial purposes without explicit permission from the author and blog owner. This includes blogs with ads and income generating features and/or blogs or sites using feed content as a replacement for original content. Complete content usage is prohibited.

Unless otherwise noted, photographs used on this blog are mine. If you would like to use a photograph from this blog, please ask for permission before you use it. Besides, most of the photographs that are posted are low resolution. Better quality versions are available upon request.

As with any genealogical project this is a "Work in Progress" and the possibility does exist that it could contain errors, hopefully, not many.

Source information for each post is available upon request. Ask me and I'll provide the information.Please contact me if you are have an interest in any of the families presented here at kinexxions.